I have a lot of rage about my mother. And my father’s latest downslide. And our recent trip to North Carolina where my wife changed her shirt for fear of being outed as gay. I have a lot of anxiety about all those things, in addition to anxiety about The State of the World and how every one of my friends reacts to it. I have anxiety about going to work. About holding my wife’s hand. About, frankly, everything. It’s a terrible mess.

Things that aren’t a mess (yet) or are a delightful mess to be in include…

that Tuesday where your Thanksgiving guest list jumps from 17 to 21.
and subsequently you are beyond grateful that the new Wegmans is offering turkeys for a song.and you realize you actually have a table cloth long enough for a table of 17 as well as enough plates and silverware.and you are relieved that the Foreign Service taught you one thing, which was how to have a large dinner without panicking.and to have enough plates.but also that your wife is an event planner, who has been around the catering block, and who also makes spreadsheets.so you can cheat off the one from last year when you though a mere 16 was a feat.but that, for some reason, you didn’t take Tuesday off even though you took Monday and Wednesday.and that you scheduled meetings all day until 5.but then you canceled them.all of them.and came home to thaw the emergency turkey instead.